AN ANTI-tourist mob fired water pistols at holidaymakers aboard a tour bus outside Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.
The attack marks the start of a long Summer of protest carnage, with mass demonstrations expected across Spain in coming weeks.
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Shocking footage shows anti-tourist demonstrators blocking the vehicle and squirting it with water.
Holidaymakers onboard the open top bus can be seen watching on in horror as the angry protesters attack.
As the mob fires away they can be heard chanting: “Tourists go home!”
The mob also covered the window of the bus with a banner that read: “Turn off the tourist focus.”
One protester told Reuters: “We are here because we are fed up that tourism is always on top of this economic model.”
The attack was organised by the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for the Decrease in Tourism.
The group wrote on X: ‘We blocked a tourist bus and demonstrated with water pistols’, and said 24 people were arrested.”
Were you targeted by anti-tourist protesters in Barcelona? If so, email [email protected]
And this is just the beginning as the group announced an even bigger protest which is set to take place on June 15.
The group said the protest will “put an end to the tourist fire that is sweeping the planet, and to initiate once and for all the essential socio-economic transformation of the territories it exploits.”
Protesters are expected to gather in several cities across Spain in coming weeks, with huge protests expected in Mallorca on Thursday.
Thursday’s demonstration will take place in the capital of Palma, starting at the iconic Plaza España at 11.30am before going along the Avenues and end with a gathering in the Parc de la Mar.
The other Balearic Islands, including Menorca and Ibiza, are also planning a series of demonstrations, the CCOO and UGT have confirmed.
The demonstration in Maó, Menorca will begin in the Plaça de la Explanada at noon, while the concentration in Ibiza will be held in the Parque de la Paz.
The protests mark the start of what the unions are calling a “hot summer of mobilisations”.
General secretaries of UGT and CCOO in the islands, Pedro Homar and José Luís García made the announcement on Tuesday under the slogan “Protect what has been conquered, win the future“.
The organisations represent thousands of hospitality workers who are fighting for better pay and working conditions, as well as access to more affordable housing.
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According to the unions the employers refuse to deal with the wage increase of the hospitality agreement.
They said this is: “nonsense and irresponsibility when they are earning more than ever, records of tourist spending are broken and the forecasts are on the rise”.
José Luís García said: “In other sectors linked to tourism, such as transport and Son Sant Joan airport, they have precarious working conditions, with enormous workloads due to lack of employees and salaries unbalanced with the standard of living of the archipelago.”
Pedro Homar added: “It is incomprehensible that they refuse to even consider a salary increase in this scenario. It is time to claim that tourism is not only the engine of the economy, but also of the well-being of workers.”
One of the clashes between employers and unions is the reduction of the working day.
The approval of this reduction has been delayed by the Government for a week due to the blackout.
According to island newspaper Ultima hora es the decision on the new hotel and catering agreement is crucial and if there is no significant progress unions will call for immediate mobilisations.
It seems nowhere is untouched by the protests as holiday hotspot Tenerife is also set to be hit by demonstrations.
Tenerife has seen residents rise up against what they are calling a “predatory model of tourism” – pushing locals to the brink.
Activists have vowed to storm popular tourist attractions, disrupt public events and “confront political leaders” in a fiery new phase of protests kicking off May 18.
“From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,” declared pressure group Canarias tiene un límite (The Canaries Have a Limit).
“We will boycott public events, confront political leaders during their appearances and occupy symbolic tourist spaces to make it clear that we will not stop until real change is achieved.”
Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
MAJORCA and Menorca are just some of the European hotspots implementing anti-tourist measures.
Many top holiday destinations across the continent are taking action to prevent unwanted travellers from taking over their towns and cities.
Locals feel they can no longer live in the iconic destinations because they have become overcrowded, unsafe and uncomfortable.
They say there are too many cars on the roads, traffic congestion, overcrowded beaches, blocked access roads, ruined beauty spots and just too many holidaymakers flocking to the island which expects record figures this summer.
Last April, thousands of people took to the streets in Tenerife to demand restrictions on holidaymakers after telling Brits to “go home”.
The anti-tourist hordes filled a square in the capital brandishing banners including some that read “You enjoy we suffer” in English.
Protests also took place at the same time on other popular Canary islands including Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
The marches were organised under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit.”
Hotel bosses in Benidorm have even admitted they are “very worried” by the anger growing amongst island residents but branded holiday homes in Spain a “virus”.
More recently, the Committee on Tourism, Trade, Employment, Culture and Sport reportedly approved an initiative to reintroduce a cap on cruise ships to Palma, Majorca’s capital.
Politicians are keen to implement a new set of rules on cruise ships in terms of taxation, the environment or the use of less polluting fuels to lower numbers coming into the Balearics.